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Abstract:

Aircraft provided with turbojet engines of which the nacelles are
partially embedded in the fuselage of the aircraft, characterised in that
it comprises on engine nacelles an internal space comprising a platform
capable of supporting personnel and maintenance equipment, with the
portions of the nacelles located inside the aircraft comprising trapdoors
or means for accessing inside the engines from the platform.

Claims:

1. Aircraft provided with turbojet engines of which the nacelles are
partially embedded in the fuselage of the aircraft, characterised in that
it comprises on engine nacelles an internal space comprising a platform
capable of supporting personnel and maintenance equipment, with the
portions of the nacelles located inside the aircraft comprising trapdoors
or means for accessing inside the engines from the platform.

2. Aircraft according to claim 1, characterised in that the platform is
carried by a floor of the aircraft.

3. Aircraft according to claim 2, characterised in that the platform
extends from one engine to the other inside the aircraft.

4. Aircraft according to claim 1, characterised in that certain portions
of the engines located inside the aircraft are devoid of protective
covers.

5. Aircraft according to claim 1, characterised in that each engine
comprises at least one external casing of which a portion located inside
the aircraft carries equipment that can be replaced during a stop-over.

6. Aircraft according to claim 5, characterised in that the equipment that
can be replaced during a stop-over includes at least one element among a
calculator, an electrical lead, an ignition exciter box, a lubricating
module, a speed sensor, an oil tank, and a starter.

Description:

[0001]This invention relates to an aircraft provided with turbojet engines
of which the nacelles are partially embedded (or buried) in the fuselage
of the aircraft.

[0002]The maintenance of aircraft requires regular intervention on their
engines, comprising in particular verifications of fluid levels, visual
inspections of indicators and of components of the engines, and replacing
parts and accessories.

[0003]During maintenance operations, the covers of the engines are open,
in such a way that the engines risk being in direct contact with dust,
water or with various debris.

[0004]In addition, the operator carrying out these operations risks being
exposure to inclement weather.

[0005]In the case of civil aircraft of which the engines are attached on
the sides of the fuselage, the access for the operator to the engines
requires the use of a raised mobile gateway or conveyor.

[0006]The guiding of this type of gateway has shown to be difficult and
not very precise in such a way that impacts frequently occur between the
gateway and a nacelle of an engine or the fuselage of the aircraft. This
results in downtime of the aircraft, at the origin of considerable
additional costs.

[0007]The use of a gateway of this type furthermore has risks of falling
and injury for its user.

[0008]The invention in particular has for purpose to provide a simple,
economic and effective solution to these problems, making it possible to
avoid the disadvantages of prior art.

[0009]It proposes for this purpose an aircraft provided with turbojet
engines of which the nacelles are partially embedded in the fuselage of
the aircraft, characterised in that it comprises on the engine nacelles
an internal space comprising a platform capable of supporting personnel
and maintenance equipment, with the portions of the nacelles located
inside of the aircraft comprising trapdoors or means for accessing inside
the engines from the platform.

[0010]The invention takes advantage of the partial embedding of the engine
nacelles of the aircraft to offer an access to the engines from the
platform inside the aircraft.

[0011]This makes it possible to avoid recourse to a mobile gateway for
maintenance operations of the engines, and therefore the inherent risks
in using this type of gateway, for the fuselage of the aircraft and the
nacelles of its engines as well as for the safety of the maintenance
personnel.

[0012]In addition, the means for accessing the engines and the maintenance
operators are located sheltered from inclement weather and relatively
isolated from dust and other debris.

[0013]According to another characteristic of the invention, the platform
is borne by a floor of the aircraft.

[0014]This is for example the floor of the cabin of the aircraft, or any
other adequate pre-existing floor, in such a way as to minimise the prior
work of adapting the aircraft required for the mounting and the support
of the platform inside the aircraft.

[0015]The platform extends more preferably from one engine to the other
inside the aircraft, in such a way as to maximise the surface that can be
used for supporting personnel and maintenance equipment and in order to
allow the maintenance personnel to approach the engines as close as
possible.

[0016]Advantageously, certain portions of the engines located inside the
aircraft are devoid of protective covers, in such a way as to best
facilitate access to the inside of the engine.

[0017]Indeed, the portions of the engines located inside the aircraft are
protected from inclement weather and dust, and do not require to be
faired by covers.

[0018]Each engine comprises more preferably at least one external casing
of which a portion located inside the aircraft carries equipment that can
be replaced during a stop-over, comprising for example at least one
element such as a calculator, an electrical lead, an ignition exciter
box, a lubricating module, a speed sensor, an oil tank, and/or a starter.

[0019]The equipment that can be replaced during a stop-over, commonly
designated by the acronym LRU (Line-Replaceable Unit), is equipment that
is designed in the form of modules in order to be replaced quickly and
easily, for example when the aircraft is parked at an airport.

[0020]In conventional civil aircrafts of which the engines are attached to
the sides of the fuselage using pylons, an external casing of each engine
carried in general equipment of this type arranged on a portion of the
surface of the casing opposite the fuselage in such a way that this
equipment can be accessed by maintenance personnel from a mobile gateway,
after opening the casing panel covering this portion of the
aforementioned casing.

[0021]Within the framework of the invention, the arrangement of such
equipment on a portion of an external casing of the engine located inside
the aircraft allows for easy access to this equipment from the internal
platform of the aircraft.

[0022]Generally, the invention makes it possible to facilitate the
maintenance operations and to reduce the downtime of the aircraft for the
execution of these operations.

[0023]The invention shall be better understood and other details,
advantages and characteristics of the latter shall appear more clearly
when reading the following description provided by way of a non-limiting
example, in reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

[0024]FIG. 1 is a partial schematic view in perspective of a civil
aircraft of known type;

[0025]FIG. 2 is a partial cross-section schematic view and in perspective
of a rear portion of a civil aircraft according to the invention.

[0026]FIG. 1 shows a rear portion of a civil aircraft 10 provided with two
turbojet engines 12 mounted laterally on the fuselage 14 of the aircraft.

[0027]Each engine is incorporated into a nacelle 16 comprising removable
covers 18 and connected to the fuselage 14 using a pylon (not shown in
FIG. 1).

[0028]FIG. 1 schematically shows the aircraft parked on the ground during
a stop-over, and a maintenance agent standing on a mobile gateway 20 and
carrying out maintenance operations on the left engine of the aircraft,
of which a cover 18 of the nacelle 16 is in an open position in such a
way as to allow access to the equipment that can be replaced during a
stop-over (LRU) 22.

[0029]This type of configuration expose the engines to the inclement
weather and to the dust and has risks of impacts between the mobile
gateway 20 on the one hand and the nacelles 16 of the engines and the
fuselage 14 of the aircraft on the other hand, as well as risks for the
safety of the personnel on board of the mobile gateway 20.

[0030]FIG. 2 shows a civil aircraft 24 with a configuration sometimes
referred to as "buried engines", wherein the engines 26 of the aircraft
(of which only the right engine is shown in FIG. 2) are not connected to
the fuselage 28 of the aircraft by respective pylons but are housed
respectively in two lateral nacelles 30 partially embedded in the
fuselage itself of the aircraft 24 and are borne by means of support 32
arranged in the inside of this fuselage.

[0031]For this, the fuselage 28 comprises an enlarged rear portion 34 of
each side of the aircraft, in such a way as to form the two lateral
nacelles 30 intended for the fairing of the engines 26 of the aircraft.

[0032]According to the invention, the enlarged rear portion 34 of the
fuselage delimits an internal space 36 wherein are housed the engines 26,
and the aircraft comprises a platform 38 able to support the personnel 40
and maintenance equipment, this platform 38 extending from an engine 26
to the other inside the internal space 36.

[0033]The platform 38 can for example be carried by a floor of the
aircraft. This platform is arranged at a height that is less, for example
by approximately 1.50 metres, than that of the respective axes of the
engines 26, inside the internal space 36, in such a way that a
maintenance agent standing on this platform 38 can access the engines 26.

[0034]In order to best facilitate the maintenance operations, an
intermediary casing 42 on each of the engines 26 carries equipment that
can be replaced during a stop-over (LRU) 44 arranged on a portion of its
external surface located inside the aircraft and devoid of protective
covers.

[0035]As such, the equipment 44 can be accessed from the platform 38
without the maintenance personnel 40 having to remove protective covers.

[0036]From a general standpoint, the invention makes it possible to reduce
the duration of the interventions concerning the maintenance of aircraft
engines by a factor from 3 to 5, while improving safety during these
interventions, for the aircraft as well as for the maintenance personnel.